Bobby Parks (cricketer)
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Robert James Parks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 15 June 1959 Cuckfield, Sussex, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Wicket-keeper | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relations | Jim Parks junior (father) Jim Parks senior (grandfather) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1992 | Hampshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993 | Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career statistics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 30 September 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert 'Bobby' James Parks (born 15 June 1959) is a former English first-class cricketer who played for Hampshire County Cricket Club.
The son of the England Test cricketer Jim Parks junior, he was born in June 1959 at Cuckfield, Sussex. His grandfather, Jim Parks senior, was also a Test cricketer. When his father was playing for Sussex, Parks was educated at Eastbourne Grammar School,[1] but was later educated at Taunton School when his father played for Somerset later in his career.[2] He then proceeded to study at the Southampton Institute of Technology.[1] After briefly playing for the Somerset Second XI, he joined Hampshire in 1976, where he would spend the next four years as an understudy to regular wicket-keeper Bob Stephenson.[2] Parks made his debut for the Hampshire first team against Sussex at Southampton in the 1980 County Championship.[3] He featured regularly for Hampshire in the closing weeks of the 1980 season as Stephenson stepped down from his wicket-keeping duties,[4] making six further appearances in the County Championship,[3] in addition to playing five List A one-day matches in the 1980 John Player League.[5] Following Stephenson's retirement at the end of the 1980 season, Parks became Hampshire's regular wicket-keeper.
A wicketkeeper, Parks kept wicket for England during a Test against New Zealand at Lord's in 1986 as a substitute for Bruce French.[6] He helped Hampshire to win the 1986 John Player Special League and the 1988 Benson & Hedges Cup, and was part of an "English Counties XI" tour of Zimbabwe in 1984–5,[7]
Parks played for Hampshire between 1980 and 1992.[8] He made 700 wicket-keeping dismissals for the club, setting a club record.[6] In 1993 he played briefly for Kent, making one first-class and one List A match, both at Maidstone in early July.[8][9]
Parks coached the France national cricket team in 1998.[6]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Carlaw, Derek (2020). Kent County Cricketers A to Z. Part Three: 1946–1999 (PDF). Cardiff: ACS. pp. 270–71.
- ^ a b "One In – One Out". www.hampshirecrickethistory.wordpress.com. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b "First-Class Matches played by Bobby Parks". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ "Six-Hit Bob is axed". Daily Mirror. London. 9 August 1980. p. 32. Retrieved 6 June 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "List A Matches played by Bobby Parks". CricketArchive. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
- ^ a b c Bobby Parks, CricInfo. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
- ^ "English Counties XI in Zimbabwe: Feb/Mar 1985". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ a b Bobby Parks, CricketArchive. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
- ^ Fairall B (1993) Cricket: Champions ground down by Kent, The Independent, 1993-07-02. Retrieved 2018-09-30.